Ellevest Announces the First-Ever National Cash Back Rewards Program for Women-Led Businesses, to Help Women Recover from the She-cession

Ellevest invites all women-led businesses to join the program -- supported by a number of prominent women-led companies, including EleVen by Venus Williams, The Honest Company, Rent the Runway, Rebecca Minkoff, goop, M.M.LaFleur, Birchbox, and The RealReal -- who are coming together to share a groundbreaking new way for women to support other women with their money -- and be rewarded for it.

News provided by

Ellevest

Mar 08, 2021, 14:00 ET

NEW YORK, March 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Ellevest announces the first-ever national cash back rewards program that supports women-led businesses and invites women-led businesses to join the program as it launches. With the Ellevest Women-Led Collection, consumers will be able to shop intentionally to support women-led businesses both nationally and locally — and get money back for doing so when using their Ellevest Mastercard debit card.

Any business led by a woman or non-binary person can apply to join the Collection, developed in partnership with Dosh, the automatic cash back platform. To help launch the initiative, during March Dosh is offering qualifying businesses that register for the program a 30-day free advertising campaign in the Collection. Companies can also receive a free Ellevest membership and guidance from Ellevest's money and career coaches.

"Our mission at Ellevest is to get more money in the hands of women," said Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck. "The Ellevest Women-Led Collection will do this, literally. The goal here is to identify businesses led by women and drive more money to them — and to provide savings and special offers for the consumers who shop them. It can be a real win-win as women look to recover financially."

Women have been hit hard by the She-cession. Women-led businesses, which are concentrated in industries like retail and personal services, have also been hurt, and many were left behind by the Paycheck Protection Program.

Meanwhile, 90% of women consumers say they would go out of their way to shop women-led businesses.

Rent the Runway, EleVen by Venus Williams, goop, M.M.LaFleur, The Honest Company, Birchbox, Rebecca Minkoff, and The RealReal are partnering with Ellevest to kick off the initiative — by helping build the initial collection, spreading the word, and providing exclusive offers and savings.

"The pandemic has challenged us all in unimaginable ways, and few groups have felt its effects more deeply than women in the workforce," said Jenn Hyman, CEO of Rent the Runway. "With millions out of their jobs already, it's more important than ever to support women-led businesses fighting for survival. Rent the Runway is proud to partner with Ellevest on this initiative in support of putting more money into the hands of women everywhere."

Krawcheck will host conversations with leaders of these prominent companies and small businesses on the impact of women supporting women financially on Instagram Live throughout March. Follow instagram.com/ellevest to join in.

Ellevest is also inviting its community to nominate their favorite businesses to the Collection and will host giveaways and prizes for those who do.

"We know that 3 out of 4 women-owned businesses have been hit by the pandemic, and we know that it's taking them twice as long to recover. Now is the time to take action," said Rebecca Minkoff, founder of Rebecca Minkoff and co-founder of The Female Founder Collective. "We're committed to helping shine a spotlight on the millions of businesses created by talented and strategic women founders and help them thrive."

HOW BUSINESSES CAN JOIN THE PROGRAM

All businesses led by women or non-binary people are welcome to apply to the Ellevest Women-Led Collection at ellevest.com/women. Participating businesses will receive:

For companies that sign up in March, Dosh will fund a free 30-day advertising campaign in the Ellevest-exclusive Women-Led Collection.
A free Ellevest Executive membership for a year to the first 250 eligible businesses who join the platform
Access to exclusive workshops for entrepreneurs

HOW CONSUMERS CAN SUPPORT WOMEN AND SAVE MONEY

To shop the Ellevest Women-Led Collection, consumers can become an Ellevest member and activate their Ellevest Mastercard debit card. Membership begins at $1/month and includes access to no-hidden-fee banking and cash back rewards. All genders can be members of Ellevest.

Ellevest is inviting its community to nominate businesses to the Collection and will host giveaways and prizes for those who do
The first 1,000 people who become Ellevest members and put money into their Ellevest Spend account in March will receive $5 cash in their account to shop the collection
Each eligible purchase within the Women-Led Collection triggers a special offer or automatic cash back

For more information and program terms, visit ellevest.com.

About Ellevest

Ellevest is a financial company built by women, for women, providing solutions for all stages of women's financial lives to help them invest more, save more, and earn more. Ellevest's offerings include digital investing tools, banking services, discounted access to professional coaching, and learning resources, as well private wealth management for high net worth clients who want a customized financial strategy that may include investing for impact. Ellevest has built a community of 3+ million Elle Raisers working toward financial equality. To learn more, check out ellevest.com.

SOURCE Ellevest